Leitrim finish strong as Laois suffer first defeat of Division 4 campaign

Laois came out on the wrong side of a very dramatic encounter with Leitrim in the National Football League on Saturday afternoon in Laois Hire O’Moore Park.

Losing to Leitrim means that Laois will have to come away with a result against Waterford next Sunday to guarantee a spot in the final of Division 4.

LEITRIM 0-17

LAOIS 1-13

The hosts had a four point lead at half time, somewhat fortuitously as Leitrim couldn’t convert any of their three major goal chances.

Leitrim completely dominated the second half, and relentlessly pressured the Laois kickouts keeping them pinned deep in their own half for most of the second period.

Justin McNulty’s men were ahead by four points with 14 minutes left after a Paul Kingston goal but Leitrim would go on to score six of the final seven points to claim a huge win and keep them in with a shout of Division 4 glory.

Ryan O’Rourke was outstanding for the Shannonsiders with seven points from play, whilst Killian Roche was far and away the stand out man in blue as he made four excellent saves.

Laois had the wind for the opening half but they struggled to find their range kicking towards the town and had several wides racked up, and Leitrim punished with the opening two scores from a Darragh Rooney free followed with a good score from play by Tom Prior.

Paul Kingston kicked Laois’ first score after five minutes when he danced his way into space before splitting the posts and Evan O’Carroll soon levelled things up with a free.

Leitrim continued to look dangerous up front and Ryan O’Rourke put them back in front with a powerful effort into the breeze on 12 minutes.

After a slow start Laois began to find their groove and once they got the ball into the full forward line it paid dividends.

Mark Barry and Paul Kingston both pointed after doing well to shake off their markers on either side of the posts and Laois went ahead for the first time on 15 minutes.

The lead was almost very short lived when a Leitrim quick kick out almost caught Laois on the hop with Killian Roche high up the field. The visitors had a chance to lob Roche as he scrambled back but they elected to play it inside to Darragh Rooney and Roche had a chance to settle himself to make the save.

The crossbar denied Laois from a very similar situation seconds later when Paul Kingston’s attempted lobbed bounced in the much and rebounded off the crossbar to Barry who had to settle for a point.

Laois’ lead was increased to three on 24 minutes when Eoin Lowry found Evan O’Carroll with a brilliant pass and he produced a piece of magic to turn on the mucky ground and split the posts.

Mark Barry point from an identical spot three minutes later and Laois led by four.

Points for Donal Casey and Rooney cut the gap to just two and it was end to end stuff throughout the half, as O’Carroll was in position at the other end again to kick a free over the bar.

Leitrim had two guilt-edged chances at goal late in the half. Darragh Rooney made a mess of the first attempt as he fisted across goal into no man’s land and the ball dribbled out wide, and for the second Roche was forced to pull off another excellent save, this time denying Ryan O’Rourke from close range.

After a couple of hairy moments Laois still somehow held a three point lead and that was increased to four just before half time with a free from Mark Barry to put them 0-9 to 0-5 ahead.

The second half started at a wild pace and Conor Heffernan kicked the opener after a clever pass inside from O’Carroll to assist.

Leitrim came fighting back and two turnovers in midfield resulted in a brace of points for Ryan O’Rourke to cut the gap to three before Rooney kicked another free to make it two.

O’Carroll stemmed the flow with a free from close range after some tough tackling from the Leitrim backs before Leitrim had a fourth chance at goal denied.

Nevin O’Donnell’s kick out went all the way down to the 21 and Prior fisted the ball off the bar after a pass from O’Rourke and the ball rebounded to hit feet when he proceeded to scoop it between the posts for a point.

After 10 minutes of no scoring the game burst into life once again and Leitrim levelled with a Nevin O’Donnell 45 followed by an O’Rourke point as Leitrim kept Laois penned inside their own half.

Against the run of play Laois found the net when O’Carroll gained possession in midfield and bore down on goal before handing outside to Kingston who finished excellently.

Kingston quickly followed with a point to increase the lead to four, but Leitrim battled back again with scores from Rooney and O’Rourke.

Leitrim continued to dominate and would score four of the final five points in the last 8 minutes of play.

Mark Plunkett and O’Rourke kicked to level before Mark Barry landed a free to put Laois ahead again in injury time. Rooney levelled and Barry McNulty kicked Leitrim ahead deep in injury time and Mark Barry had one last chance with a tight free with the final kick but his attempt struck the upright and Leitrim came out with the ball.